‘Takes the p**s’: Cher’s wild new Aussie-only ad
A musical legend stars in a new Australian advert which goes hard in poking fun at one of the world’s most famous singers.
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Musical legend Cher has said she agreed to take part in an Australian ad which mocks her age because she likes “taking the piss”.
The singer, who has been in the entertainment business for six decades, is the latest US artist to star in an ad for Uber which will only be shown in Australia and New Zealand.
She follows in the footsteps of former Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams and Seinfeld star Jason Alexander who have both signed on to promote the tech giant in the last year.
But Cher’s ad, which debuts on Wednesday, is potentially the most wild of the three – and the most cutting.
In the commercial, Cher orders a “time machine” on Uber Eats.
“Take me back to the eighties,” the diva says when it arrives, but she accidentally finds herself in the 1680s.
She arrives in near medieval times – much to the shock of locals – straddling a cannon in homage to the video of her 1989 mega hit If I Could Turn Back Time.
Her outfit in the ad, all black leather and metal studs, is also reminiscent of the huge song’s video.
A ruddy faced mucky villager sees Cher and declares, somewhat rudely, “She’s both young and old at the same time”.
Cher is then tried as a witch, to which she exclaims: “I’m not a witch, I’m an icon”.
While being burned, she berates a villager for stealing her studded black boots and dancing around.
‘Take the piss’
Poking fun at oneself is a very Australian habit. But not so much in the US where the famously self-deprecating Aussie sense of humour can fall flat when Americans take comments all too literally.
But, said Cher during media interviews in a plush New York hotel last weekend, that wasn’t an issue for her.
The ad was “amusing” and “droll,” she said.
“I like taking the piss out myself – I do,” the 78-year-old insisted to news.com.au.
“Sometimes you have to have a sense of humour. And if it’s funny, it’s funny”.
Cher said she was approached to do commercials “all the time”.
“But the creativity and hilarity that Uber Eats presented appealed to me right away.
“I’m really proud of the final product. I sincerely hope Uber will get me back my boots,” she added.
Thyme, not time
Uber Eats Australia is clearly chuffed it managed to sign up someone with Cher’s calibre to spruik its food delivery services.
The company’s brand manager for Australia and New Zealand, Channa Goonasekara, said there was “not a single syllable in showbiz that projects more star power than Cher”.
“Cher’s performance reminds audiences that while Uber Eats can get you thyme delivered, we can’t turn back time – and as it turns out that’s probably a good thing,” he said.
Cher has been enjoying life in recent years.
She has been dating music executive Alexander “AE” Edwards since 2022.
The Believe singer gushed that he was an “amazing person and father”.
“On paper, it’s kind of ridiculous,” the singer said on The Drew Barrymore Show in 2022 of the several decade gap between the pair.
“But in real life, we get along great. He’s fabulous”.
However, Cher had a scare in recent weeks when he was forced to abandon her home in Los Angeles as the horror fires encroached.
She lives in Malibu, which was badly affected by the Pacific Palisades and Franklin blazes.
The New York Times reported that Cher fled with her pets to safety and spent some time sheltering at a hotel.
Her home however was spared from the flames, despite destruction and smouldering land close by.
Originally published as ‘Takes the p**s’: Cher’s wild new Aussie-only ad